Maria finally let out the last rooms to humans, and the new manager —Alvin, was about to arrive. He’d verified he was human and coming in the daytime was proof of the fact that he wasn’t a vlad, at least. The last pack members in the Towers would be out by the morning, and that’d leave a day to get the rooms cleaned. Gabriel said he was ready to ship out once they found Kelvin, as was Dustin. What would’ve been the last member of the crew (Tanya), had turned away from them, and no one had seen any sight of her. Kat asked if she could stay until Kelvin was safe. Maria agreed, and they could do with the help to clean the rooms.

Maria walked around each floor and felt the change in the vibe now that pure humans rented, rather than pack members. She passed Gabriel’s apartment, and the whiff of cologne escaped from under the door. He’d busied himself for his guest’s arrival.

"Coming!" she heard him call.

The door opened, and Maria faced Gabriel’s broad chest. His muscles rippled as he gripped the door. "What do you want?" he huffed. He sounded as if he expected someone else to be knocking on his door.

"You got a few minutes, you never finished saying what happened at Garrett's place?"

"Yeah, a few. Come in. I can talk while I’m getting ready.” Maria couldn’t take her eyes away from him. "You gonna gawk or talk?"

"You started to mention Kat."

"Yeah! I mentioned strychnine to Garrett, and according to Abigail, Agatha Christie used it a lot in her books."

"So! What does that mean?"

"Abigail said no one survived from strychnine poisoning, even if it was a story. The facts remain true." Gabriel adjusted his bulge in his shorts. Maria watched and fidgeted a little in her chair.

She blushed. "And you’re telling me this because?"

"Kat was poisoned by strychnine, Kelvin said. Even a small amount would’ve killed her."

"And you think?"

"Not me; Abigail, she reckons it wasn't strychnine, or if it was, the drip had been fixed, so it never reached her. It was a setup."

"Why would anyone do that?"

"We guessed it was to get her back here, so the vlads knew where Kelvin was," he replied. "Apart from that, we don't know."

"So, the whole ambulance thing was set up to divert Kelvin's attention from reality… and the danger he was in?"

"Maybe! You know how easily men are distracted by a beautiful woman." Maria giggled.

Maria stood and walked to the door. She grabbed hold of the door handle as Gabriel walked up behind her. "You do know, it's nearly time for us to leave?"

Gabriel nodded. "Yeah, I'm all packed. Funds are in my current account so as soon as Kelvin is home, we can bolt."

Maria explained that she and Dustin were both in the same position. She didn't want any of them to stay any longer than necessary. They made their way down to the lobby. A stranger stood at the counter. He looked up as he heard the footsteps.

"Alvin, you made it," Maria called out, and then turned to Gabriel. "There's no need to hide anything from Alvin. I’ve known him for over ten years. He's all human!"

"And he is the manager, the new manager?" Maria nodded as they crossed the lobby. She introduced them to each other.

"Hi. When are you looking at shipping out?" Alvin asked, curiously.

"It could be anytime. As soon as we find Kelvin we are going," Gabriel explained. "First stop is New Orleans. We have it on good authority that there might be a shaman there."

Alvin nodded his head as he thought about Gabriel’s statement. "You might be right, they’re all into that voodoo shit down there."

"That's what we’re hoping, and that's half the reason we have to get Kelvin back. Out of all of us, he is the only one who has any links down there. His mom told him there was still family there. So, we’re hoping he'll be recognized and it won't look like a bunch of strangers walking around asking for a shaman."

"It makes sense. But it makes more sense to get him back before they use his blood and create a load of daywalkers. If they do that, I think we’re all in the shit."

Gabriel smiled politely. Is there nothing Maria hasn't told him?

"I better wait outside," Gabriel added. He walked toward the entrance as Maria took Alvin to show him around the apartments.

Gabriel sat on the stone bench that looked out across the steps, and toward the parking lot. Megan should be arriving anytime, now.

Gabriel stood. An hour on a stone bench had sent the cheeks of his ass numb. The sun now started to lower itself to the horizon. Gabriel paced back and forth in front of the entrance. He sat again.

The streetlights flickered. Their golden glow were cast over the parking lot. A black car pulled into the lot and parked at the bottom of the steps.

Two and a half hours late. That's a good start.

"You been waiting long?" Megan asked as she walked up the steps. Her tight skirt lifted as she raised her feet to the next level.

"Not at all. Five or ten minutes. I got here moments before the sun went down."

"I meant to call. I had a migraine, so I kept out of the light."

Gabriel took Megan's bag.

Those migraines can be a real pain in the proverbial.

* * *

Tap-tap-tap.

Gabriel rolled over in bed. He looked at the body which laid asleep next to him. He smiled as he dreamed. Even Megan is in my nightmare.

Tap-tap-tap. Get outta here he heard himself say as he looked toward the window.

"You’re not real. You're a figment of my imagination," he muttered.

Megan rolled over, and the bed sheet slid from her naked body. "What's that?"

"It's nothing. You’re in a nightmare my mind is trying to have, but I'm not letting it manifest."

"Gab!"

Gabriel rolled over and pulled the bed sheet over Megan and him. He snuggled his head into the pillow.

"Gab, it's me," he heard from behind the curtain. Tap-tap-tap.

"Phht. Go away," he mumbled in reply.

"Who are you talking to?" Megan asked, bleary-eyed.

"Go back to sleep. I had this dream before." Tap-tap-tap.

"I don't think you’re dreaming," Megan whispered.

"Yes! I am."

Gabriel ignored the noise and buried his head, hard against the pillow. He wrapped his arm around Megan and cupped her bare breast. "Now this is the type of dream I should be having," he muttered, with a huge and satisfied grin on his face. The banging against the window got louder. It stopped suddenly. "What did I tell ya, it was a dream? It's stopped."

"What's that smell then?" Megan asked, getting more worried.

"Dreams are lifelike. Don't worry about it. When I wake up, I'll tell you all about it."

"If you're dreaming…. why can I see the curtain moving?" she asked.

"Gab," the voice said from behind the curtain.

Now it's trying to freak me out. "Go away. You're not real," he muttered as he watched the curtain push further into the bedroom.

"Jesus Christ, Gab. Whatever it is, it's coming toward the bed."

"It will be gone soon. I'll wake up sweating in a minute."

Megan sat up in bed. She slapped Gabriel, hard on the shoulder. "You dumb idiot! You're not asleep. Something has broken in through the window."

"Gab. Help me!" the voice muttered.

Gabriel sat up. He realized he wasn't dreaming. He looked at the large bulge that pushed against the curtain. Dirty fingers clawed at the edge of the fabric. It started to pull back. Megan screamed. Eyes as white as anything now peered, weirdly, right into the dimly-lit room.

"Gab. It's me, Kelvin."

"Yeah right."

"It stinks like shit, and it's moving. Gab, will you do something?" Megan yelled. He turned on the main light and grabbed the flashlight he’d used at the industrial park. He raised it over his head as he pinched hold of the curtain. He tugged.

A head appeared on the side. He saw the whites of its eyes as it smiled at him. He swung the flashlight in the direction of the head.

It ducked.

The body fell into the room and rolled onto the floor. It raised its hands in front of its chest and backed toward the wall. "Gab… it's me, Kelvin. I've escaped from the vlads."

Megan sat up and listened. "Kelvin. Is that you; is it really you?"

"I'll explain in a while, but we need to make sure I haven't been followed," Kelvin said. "They took me to the mine, of all places."

"Well fuck me," Gabriel replied. "You need a shower. BADLY!"

Kelvin walked to the bathroom and started to shower. Gabriel dressed and walked from the bedroom. "Where are you going?" Megan asked.

"I've gotta tell the others," he said. "We can move now that Kelvin’s safe."

"Where are you going?"

"We’re off to find a shaman so I can get my wolf back."

"Yeah! But where are you going to find one? I mean, they aren’t that common, you know." Megan wrapped herself in a robe and made her way to the door of the apartment. Kat's head popped in from Kelvin's apartment.

"What’s all the commotion?" she asked.

"They are on the move. They are going to New Orleans."

"When?" Kat asked.

"Anytime soon," Megan replied. "It's all coming to an end."

Kat stepped into the hallway and walked toward Megan. "Relax, calm down, will you. This is only the first stage. You know what you have to do."

"That's easy for you to say. You’re going to go with him!"

"Sssh," said Kat. Kelvin called from behind Megan. Kat grinned and jumped. "Thank goodness you’re okay," she said, now throwing her arms around Kelvin's neck and kissing him on his cheek. Kat glared over his shoulder at Megan.

"Where has Gabriel gone?" he asked, walking toward his apartment.

Megan replied as she pulled the bathrobe tightly around her body. She said, "He's gone to inform Maria that you're back."

"Who are you, anyway, and where’s Tanya?" he asked as he vanished through the door of his apartment.

"I'm—" It fell on deaf ears.

Megan walked into the apartment. She closed the door and picked up her cell. She typed the text and hit send. He is here. She deleted the message.

* * *

"Where have you been?" Kat asked Kelvin.

"I was taken. I'm not gonna keep repeating myself. I will have to tell everyone at once."

"Kelvin, you're back!" She looked at him. "You don't sound surprised." She smiled. "We’d better go," Kat remarked.

"And where do you think you’re going?" Kelvin replied, stopping Kat in her tracks.

"The office?"

"I don't think so. You’ll have to wait here for me."

Kat pouted and sat on the couch like a spoiled brat. "I thought you wanted me to be your girl?"

"That's something totally different, altogether. This is business and affects people’s lives. Mine especially."

Dustin opened the apartment door. They made their way downstairs and walked to the office. Maria sat in her chair dressed in her pajamas and Gabriel sat on the couch.

"Where's Tanya? And who’s that girl in your apartment?" Kelvin asked Gabriel, who explained he’d gone to the woods with Tanya, and that he was rendered unconscious… and that Tanya had left. "Of her own accord?" With a nod, Gabriel said it was now her choice from what he remembered. He also explained Megan was Noelle's cousin.

Maria leaned on her desk and asked Kelvin to tell them exactly what had happened. He glanced at the clock. The sun would soon be up, so he knew no vlads would come knocking on the door.

"I was in the mine. There is a warehouse or something. This dude is huge, he has weird blue eyes and is over six feet tall." Dustin had been right that the thing was tall. "He is ancient as well, I'd say ninety, but I bet he’s over a hundred."

"And he moves around by himself?" Gabriel asked.

"You betcha, he gripped my face to make me drink a sedative. He's got a fierce fucking grip, too."

Maria asked how he’d escaped. Kelvin explained in detail he was sedated, but his inner wolf had absorbed the drug. He’d smashed his way through the skylight and made his way across the expanse of the mine and hid in the dumpster.

"I thought you smelled a bit off," Dustin remarked.

"I'm not sure it was veggies or scraps from a kitchen. I think it was body bits," Kelvin said as he retched at the memory of the stench. "How are we doing here, are we all set? If we're gonna go, it has to be quick. I think they’re gonna come looking for me again. He was well-pissed when I fled across the roof."

Maria looked at Dustin and Gabriel for an answer. She was ready to go. They looked at each other and agreed. First thing in the morning at sunrise. Then they’d have a day’s head start on the vlads.

"Did you hear anything or see anything that was useful?" Maria asked Kelvin.

He stood and spun the whiteboard. He closed his eyes and rubbed. He opened them, and with bleary eyes, he looked at the diagram that was scrawled before him. "The old dude was talking to a female. She never answered, in spite of this, he told her she had a special job to do."

"You think that was Tanya?"

Kelvin shook his head. He picked up the whiteboard and drew an extra square with Tanya's name inside. He drew the second square next to it and wrote two words followed by a question mark.

“Mystery Woman?”

“It’s the dim haze of mystery that adds enchantment to pursuit!”